Vaporius
“What a man believes is more important than what he does. False belief undoes the virtue of any endeavor, and consumes the greatest of achievements.” –from the speeches of Saint Drusus All that is known of Vaporius and its strange people is gathered from rumors that circulate in Port Wander, Footfall, and wherever explorers and renegades gather. The tales point to a primitive and backward feudal society with naught but sand, dehydration, and death. Those that dig deeper hear other, more interesting rumors that say the waters of Vaporius are precious for a reason, and a rare treasure worth crossing the Expanse to plunder. Vaporius is said to be a world of red deserts, gleaming turquoise seas and great cities of copper towers, enameled domes, and sprawling buildings covered in brightly colored tiles of glass, metal, and ceramic. The human population of Vaporius is tall, with proud, almost feline features, and eyes of brilliant cyan. They move about their cities in robes of shimmering fabric that subtly changes hue as they move. The rule of Vaporius is reputed to lie in the hands of Priest-Kings who control the distribution of water that is held as a divine force of life. It is said that decades ago a clutch of missionaries voyaged to Vaporius to break the rule of the Priest Kings. Nothing more was heard of them apart from whispers of torture, slaughter, and blood. Despite its arid and desolate landscape, Vaporius is not without its treasures, and travellers to this remote world speak of ancient technological wonders buried far out amongst the sands and the rare and special properties of the precious waters themselves, blessed by the Priest-Kings. There is even tell of a special mission by the Ministorum to turn the world to the path of the Emperor, hidden somewhere under the very noses of the Kings. 'Rise of the Priest-Kings' "Water is the lifeblood of any world, it flows through the veins of the earth feeding the righteous and drowning the wicked. So it has always been, so it will always be." –Kalmera Vors, Keeper of the Winds of Atar The origins of Vaporius are not known to the Imperium, though it is likely that in a time of expansion millenniums past it was settled by colonists pushing forth the boundaries of mankind’s dominion. Over the centuries, however, isolation, the harsh environment of their world and the nature of man himself has seen their society degenerate into a feudal world of harsh laws and strict obedience to so-called divine rulers. This rigid caste system is based on the distribution and use of the world’s precious water supplies. On Vaporius a man’s worth is measured in water, and water is distributed only by the will of the Priest-Kings. The Keepers, ancient adepts of wisdom and law, tell tales of the coming of man to Vaporius and the rise of the Priest-Kings. It is said that in the time before time, man landed in the desert and tried to turn this world green. Even today, they say travelers can see evidence of this folly from the petrified desert forests to the vast trenches where rivers were meant to have flowed. The failure of these first men was not because their technology was flawed or even that they lacked the will to change the red deserts, but that they failed to understand why Vaporius was a desert and where the water had gone. For centuries, the first men toiled and failed, were born and died, their bones parched by the great suns of dawn, noon, and dusk. Over time, their machines broke down, and they were forced to live as nomads wandering from the sun-washed mountains to the poisonous cyan seas. It was during this age of death that the first Priest-Kings rose to power. Born of the first men, the Priest-Kings looked different to their parents; taller, with distinctive features some would describe as feline and liquid blue eyes. They also had a gift, the gift to find water beneath the desert and call it forth. How this was possible, or why, are not things that are remembered or asked by the inhabitants of Vaporius. It quickly became enough that these sons of the first men could create life where there was none and those that could not flocked to their sides. It also became rapidly apparent that the springs did not maintain themselves, and each required a Priest-King to keep it flowing. Great cities of glass, tile, and copper (one of the few metals on Vaporius) grew up around the places where a Priest-King would call forth water and make his home. These cities were both places to live and monuments to the glory of the Priest-King and his spring. Today, centuries after the rise of the Priest-Kings, their power and lineage are maintained through careful breeding and the attention of ancient royal families. Conflict between the Priest-Kings is rare, given the distance between the cities and the lack of resources to fight over. Recent events have strengthened the alliances between the cities, namely the coming of missionaries to Vaporius from beyond the sky, preaching the notion of a divine being more powerful even than the Priest-Kings. This is something that could shake the foundations of their world and concerns the Priest-Kings. 'Parched Earth' Vaporius is one vast desert, broken up by continent-spanning mountain ranges, gigantic parched basins filled with dust and sand, and a handful of dead seas, too salty to support any life. Survival only seems possible near the springs and within the thrall of the Priest-Kings. However, there is more life out in the desert than explorers might expect. Key regions of Vaporius include: The Cities of Glass Numbering in the hundreds, the glass cities of the Priest-Kings litter the desert like discarded jewels. Always hundreds of kilometers apart (lest the influence of one King clash with another), they are linked by well-worn tracks and caravan trails across the dust plains. Grand in spectacle and epic in design, the cities are mostly self sufficient, organized around the great divine wells at their centers. Farms are fed by a latticework of aqueducts and canals, while deep pits and cool caves hide the glass foundries and copper forges from the sun. Over time, different cities have begun to create their own goods, promoting trade between the Kings, such as the weave-cloaks of Vyr or the wind-gems of Atar, but for the most part they remain isolated. One of the cities on Vaporius is called Meh’phi and its Priest-King is Heris, known for telling great (and long) tales of his hunting exploits in the deep deserts, particularly of the sand tigers. Another city is Tyniss, and south of it are deserts of azure color. The Sky Mountains Like broad scars across the land, the mountains of Vaporius crisscross the plains and divide the world into vast dust bowls. The mountains are also strangely devoid of settlement, and in all the history of Vaporius, no King has ever created a city in their shadow. Keepers say that this is because the mountains hold no water beneath their rocky roots, and the ground is hard and unforgiving to the hand of man. Others, however, whisper that this is not the case at all, and in fact it is because the mountains are filled with monsters made of rock that crush the strongest men to paste. The Dead Seas Brilliant turquoise and cyan seas dot the surface of Vaporius like tiny puddles of rain. From a distance they appear inviting and cool, a welcome respite from the endless leagues of desert. However, they are dead places, their waters toxic to life and their touch caustic to flesh. Travelers deliberately avoid these places, where a sudden wind can bring about a burning and blinding acid rain. The Ocean of Dust Beyond the Sky Mountains, the glass cities, and the sandy plains stretches the Ocean of Dust, a seemingly endless valley hemmed in on all sides by towering cliffs. As the Keepers tell it, the Ocean of Dust was once a true ocean, much like the dead seas, and the first men even fashioned boats to sail across it. What they found and why the sea vanished remains a mystery, as travelers do not venture into the ocean, for there is nothing there but death and thirst. The Temple of the First Men Legends speaks of the ships the first men used to sail to Vaporius and of the first great temple they built to honor their gods. Even the Priest-Kings send out expeditions from time to time, chasing rumors of this place, tempted by stories of ancient technology and off-world wealth. For travelers to Vaporius the temple could prove quite a prize, if even half the stories of its wonders are true. 'The Thralls of Vaporius' Most of the inhabitants of Vaporius are loyal servants of the Priest-Kings, tied to them by bonds of service and survival. At first glance, they are much like the humans of any Imperial world, though closer inspection reveals their distinctly feline features and deep-set cyan eyes, adapted for the harsh brightness of their world. Vaporians are also typically hairless, their bronzed skin smooth and unblemished. Of course, they seldom show their skin outside, favoring robes of many-hued glass beads over shimmering cloth, which glitter and tinkle as they move. At the top of Vaporian culture stand the Priest-Kings and their royal families. Seldom seen outside their grand palaces, and almost never outside the boundaries of their cities, the inhabitants of Vaporius view them as no less than gods, divine beings with power over water and thus the ability to grant life or death. The truth, however, is more sinister, and if one were to sneak into the glimmering halls of the King they would come back with visions of debauchery and sadism, where the noble-blooded, possessing ultimate power over their cities, give in to the worst of humanity’s vices. Some Imperial visitors, travelling incognito to the glass cities, have brought back even more disturbing stories and theories about the nature of the Priest-Kings. One such tale is from the Navigator Elyee Vil, who went there aboard the far trader Spirit of Humility. A keen psychic sensitive, Vil came to believe the Priest-Kings were psykers, with some kind of power over the waters of Vaporius, which were themselves somehow sentient. Worse still he found their psychic taint in every living soul within the glass cities, leading him to believe this was how they somehow held the whole world in under their spell. Below the Kings are the Thrall Castes. These can be roughly broken up into five groups: Cutters, Shapers, Scavengers, Breeders, and Water Children. Cutters are the soldiers of Vaporius, robust men and women chosen for their size and aggression. For the most part they act as an internal police force, though they can be gathered together to protect the city borders. Shapers are craftsmen and women, working mostly in copper and glass but also cloth, reed, limestone, and bone. They have a respected position in the cities, where their skills are valued by the Priest-Kings. Scavengers are the recyclers of the cities, ensuring that nothing is ever put to waste. Like the rats of ancient Terra, they scurry below the streets collecting and cataloguing the detritus of the people. Scavengers are also the first to be called upon when an expedition beyond the city walls is required. Breeders are the farmers of the cities, growing crops and tending to the small lizards and birds brought to Vaporius by the First Men. Finally there are the Water Children, sacrifices reared by the city and offered up to the Priest-King so that he may keep the spring eternally flowing. How they perform this task or why the King needs them is unknown, but to be a Water Child is to live a life of privilege and comfort---at least until they reach maturity and are called to their King. Though the Kings and the thralls of their cities never admit it, there are those that live outside the dominion of the Priest- Kings. They are known as the Sandmen, and can primarily be found in the Sky Mountains, if they want to be found at all. How they survive is not known, though rumors talk of vast limestone caves in the mountains, and deep wells free of the taint of the Priest-Kings. If the Sandmen have a goal it is also unknown, though they are sometimes seen at night watching the cities from afar. 'Don’t Drink the Water...' The waters of Vaporius have a power over all who drink them, and the more you drink the greater its hold becomes. The First Drink: A feeling of euphoria sweeps through the drinker and his mind is calmed. Fear and shock effects are ignored for 1d5 hours and Talents such as Frenzy or those that require a heightened emotional state cannot be used. The Second Drink: Fear and doubt are completely replaced by contentment and a feeling of safety even in the face of obvious danger. As above, Talents such as Frenzy or those that require a heightened emotional state cannot be used. Finally the drinker gains the Fearless Talent for 2d10 hours as well as immunity to Insanity Point gain. The Third Drink: Nothing matters but this feeling. In addition to all the effects of the second drink, which now persist for 1d5 days, the drinker must make a Hard (–20) Willpower Test to resist continuing to drink the water of Vaporius. Those who continue to drink the water for more than a week finally succumb to their full effects and fall into the thrall of the Priest-Kings, becoming tranquil and suggestive to any commands given by one of the royal line. In addition they will work tirelessly and without complaint, completely content in their lot and happy to help those around them, even should it mean working their fingers to bloody stumps and toiling until their hearts finally fail. Sadly this is the state of most that dwell on Vaporius, under the ‘protection’ of the Priest-Kings. 'Ansai, Priest-King of the Glass City of Lah’ndan' Ansai is the Priest-King of the city of Lah’ndan and therefore its absolute ruler. In appearance, the Priest-King Ansai is quite striking, his face lean and his deep blue eyes wide-set and penetrating. His head is bald, and covered with intricately painted, swirling patterns of red and purple. Ansai holds court from a throne of luxurious cushions, on which he and his attendants sprawl languidly while courtiers and sycophants cluster all around to pander to his every need. His demeanor is at all times polite and languid, and he does not raise his voice or allow himself to become agitated. This languorous persona is a façade however. Ansai has a keen intellect, and harbors, as do all Priest-Kings, a powerful psychic talent, albeit one which the Explorers may not recognize as such. He is also the absolute ruler of his city, and possesses supreme self-confidence. All his responses are colored accordingly---he expects deference, is unimpressed by threats, and is disinterested in bargaining. Recently, he has learned that the Imperial Missionarius have created a mission out in the desert, from which they seek to convert people to the worship of the God-Emperor of Mankind. He desires them to be stopped, but does not yet know how this can be done, but he is more than willing to bargain some of his precious water to those who would rid him of these pests. 'Sand Tigers' “Just what we needed. Something else to kill us in this Emperor-forsaken desert.” –Howin Smythe, Huntmaster Sand Tigers are native to the world of Vaporius on the far edges of the Heathen Stars, a parched, bronzed world dotted by brilliant (and poisonous) turquoise and cyan seas. The world is mostly desert, vast stretches of sand and dust broken by jagged mountain chains. The Sand Tiger makes its home amongst those inhospitable stretches of wasteland dunes. Roughly half again the size of a man, the Sand Tiger is a ferocious and solitary predator. Its semi-silicate physical composition allows it to survive the nearly waterless environment it lives in, going for months or even years without any liquid besides that which it can take from its prey. The Sand Tiger is an ambush predator, burying itself in dunes two to three meters below the ground. Once it has dug its burrow, it agitates the sand around it with its powerful digging claws, loosening it. Then it waits, using a multitude of bristling hairs along its back to sense minute vibrations in the desert sands. If an individual is unfortunate enough to walk over the place where the creature is buried, it sinks into the loose and shifting sands, the Sand Tiger hastening its descent with further frantic digging. Soon the prey finds itself in a conical pit with the Sand Tiger’s hungry maw at the bottom. The creature descends on its prey and shreds it with its claws and circular, tooth-ringed orifice, draining it of bodily fluids before eating the choicest bits of meat and leaving the rest to rot beneath the sands. The Sand Tiger prefers to wait for its prey to fall into its trap before attacking. It ferociously fights anything that ends up in the pit it has dug, only fleeing if severely wounded. If the prey escapes the pit trap, a hungry or enraged Sand Tiger pursues them away from its nest. In this case, it prefers to burrow underground to attack from beneath the sands, but runs on open ground if need be. Prey is often scarce in the desert, so a Sand Tiger may pursue a target for dozens of kilometers before giving up. If, on the other hand, the Sand Tiger’s prey attacks it from a particularly advantageous position (for example, from the lip of its own pit with ranged weaponry), the creature flees quickly, burrowing into the sand to escape attack. The Sand Tiger is an ambush predator primarily, and prefers to avoid a straight-up fight. Flesh and Crystal Despite the ferocious and elusive nature of the creature, the real draw for game hunters and adventurers is rooted in the Sand Tiger’s semi-silicate nature. The creature’s skeleton is made entirely of translucent, rose-tinted crystal, comprised of a molecular structure that no member of the Adeptus Mechanicus has been able to replicate. The haunting beauty and utter rarity of a Sand Tiger’s skeleton makes it an exquisite and highly-valued trophy. A single tooth or claw is incredibly valuable---a complete skeleton could buy a Fury Interceptor. The risk one takes to kill these beasts while leaving the skeleton intact only increases their value. Even if the skeleton is unharmed in the effort, removing it from the flesh is also an effort as the two bond on a near molecular level, possibly part of how the crystalline bones are formed. Attempts to grow the creatures in captivity have failed so far, even those done on Vaporius to ensure nothing is remiss in the special sands or atmosphere. The beasts grow normally, but never form their signature silicate endoskeleton, only soggy bones that easily break into segments of pulpy flesh. Tales From Vaporius One of the more popular stories told by voidfarers well in their cups is the tale of Magos Du’Bane. The Thulian Explorator is said to have travelled to Vaporius, where he became enthralled by the biological makeup of the wildlife there. The semi-silicate nature of certain native creatures such as the Dwellers in the Heights interested him, but the crystalline skeleton of the Sand Tiger truly fascinated the Magos. He spent weeks in the cities of various Priest-Kings, boring them to no end with his experiments and postulations. Finally, desperate to be rid of the tiresome Tech-Priest, one of the Priest-Kings sponsored an expedition into the deep desert, so Du’Bane might find specimens. The tales all agree that Du’Bane found Sand Tigers, and became convinced that he could use a sonic amplifier to resonate with their crystal bones, drawing them from great distances to the machine. The last anyone heard about him, he was travelling into the deepest dune seas, seeking a suitable site to test his device. His arranged transport finally departed without him, but curiously was later paid the balance of the agreed on fee along with a substantial bonus. Of course, most assume this is simply a story, designed to prize a few free drinks from the gullible in the Calixis Sector eager for tales of the fearsome and dangerous Expanse. Some hold it contains a measure of truth, however, and several expeditions have nearly been organized to seek out Du’Bane’s last resting place. A Sand Tiger lure would seem to be a guaranteed way to make immense profit---if one ignored the danger of hundreds of ravenous predators converging on his location. 'Unquenched' “Beware the deserts of Vaporius, there is more than endless sand and cruel sun out there to kill a man. Things stalk those wastes, dark, cursed things cast out from the cities and shunned by even the Priest-Kings.” –Yrr Nirt, Scion of the Builders Temple Only the Priest-Kings know for sure what creates the Unquenched, or why they must be cast out rather than simply killed (if in fact they can be killed), but they seem to have existed for as long as the Priest-Kings have held power and for as long as the Waters of Vaporius have flowed. There are no formal reports concerning these beings, or at least none that have been shared with outsiders. From what those that have visited Vaporius have pieced together from rumor and legend, it seems that the Unquenched are humans possessed of psychic talent, but not of the bloodline of the Priest-Kings. On the civilized worlds of the Imperium, such individuals would be killed or given over to the Black Ships as per the Will of the Emperor, but the Koronus Expanse is without such appropriate measures to protect mankind from itself. Vaporius lacks even the specialized control and trained adepts to detect those with the psyker’s touch, which some worlds of the Expanse use to keep their own populations safe from the taint of the warp. So, like most of the people of Vaporius, they drink from the waters and submit to the control of their rulers, though it is at this point the change begins, a violent taint which mixes in their soul as the psychic dominance which flows from the waters to the Priest-Kings is turned back upon them and their own gifts are mangled and twisted into the abomination known as the Unquenched. At this point, the Priest-Kings are quick to take them, snatching them from their beds at even the hint of corruption. What transpires then is known only to those privy to the innermost secrets of the glass cities, but after a time the tainted citizen is cast out into the desert, taken far from the city and abandoned. Whether it is the water or the ritual that starts the process, the outcast is doomed to become an Unquenched and roam the wastes until their very soul fades upon the wind. However, they never stray too close to the glass cities, perhaps another result of whatever the Priest-Kings inflict upon them, preferring to remain lurking among the rocks and dust of the great wastes of their desert world. Unending Thirst The Unquenched are at their heart psychic creatures, warped by the foulness of the waters and transformed into something both more and less than human tied to their dead flesh until it turns to dust around them. Once the contagion takes them and the waters warp their innate psychic talents, they are for all intents and purposes dead, animating their bodies through sheer will rather than any semblance of true life. Their psychic power then becomes focused on the consumption of fluid and, with an unholy compulsion, they are attracted to any kind of moisture, be it the blood of a man or a canister of promethium. Even as the transformation into Unquenched consumes them they retain their intelligence and, in some cases, even their personalities if they are strong of will. Without the means to talk (their vocal cords and throat among the first things to fall prey to their psychic thirst), only those with telepathic abilities or similar means to communicate without words can reach them. Cutting through the blinding desire of the Unquenched to feed on liquids is difficult at best. This is especially so if the Unquenched has been outcast for more than a year, as their humanity erodes just like their flesh and eventually they forget they were even men and women of the glass cities. Rumors do persist of Unquenched that aid travelers on Vaporius if they are well sated, their knowledge of the wastes being almost without parallel. Others claim that the Unquenched are always aware of each other, linked in some way by the taint which has taken their souls, and the “younger” of their kind can warn travelers away from the older and more monstrous Unquenched, or the places inhabited by the spirits of those which can no longer wander. Desert Treasures Unquenched are also said to inhabit the deep places and caves beneath the desert, where they burrow down into the sands in search of underground rivers and streams. Some say that this is also where they horde their vast accumulated treasures, the possessions of those they drain dry, safely stored away from desert raiders eager to quench their own thirsts. Such deposits would certainly sate even the most rapacious of Rogue Traders should they exist and be uncovered, leading several expeditions into the vast depths of sand and dust, all returning parched and empty, or not at all. The lack of success has lead some Explorers to suppose the Unquenched themselves are propagating these tales in a cunning effort to drive prey to themselves, which is perhaps more likely than surely fanciful stories of fabulous treasures in the desert. 'The Dwellers in the Heights' The creatures that live amongst the peaks of the Sky-Mountains represent a highly unusual type of life form. They are rarely encountered, and the humans of Vaporius fear them greatly and give the mountains a wide berth lest they invite attack. The creatures appear to be made of animate rock, suggesting perhaps that their bodies are silicate, rather than carbon-based in nature. A Challenging (+0) Scholastic Lore (Beasts) Test or Arduous (–40) Intelligence Test will reveal that such a life form is highly unlikely to have evolved in the environment of Vaporius, suggesting either that the world has undergone a dramatic change, or that the creatures were introduced, or even created artificially, in some distant and long forgotten time. The Dwellers in the Heights are terrifying to look upon, for they appear to defy all of the laws of nature. They exhibit a wide range of physical types, ranging in size from one to ten meters, with three being the norm in most cases. The creatures’ bodies appear to be made of the same stuff of the mountains in which they dwell, allowing them to lie in ambush for intruders into their realm, bursting into sudden motion to attack without warning. In form, the creatures’ bodies are ever shifting, and they appear capable of instantly ‘growing’ whatever appendages are needed at any given moment. Thus, if facing several enemies they will sprout a dozen or more rocky tentacles, or form their bodies into massive, slab-like pile-drivers if faced by a single, larger foe. It is not known what the creatures rely upon for sustenance, and they certainly do not attack other life forms in order to prey upon them. Rather, they appear to be intent upon keeping intruders out of the Sky-Mountains, almost as if they are obeying some deep-seated imperative seeded in their primitive, animalistic, and entirely alien minds. A Chance for Profit For Explorers, there are seldom situations with no opportunity for profit, and the Dwellers in the Heights are no different. A successful Forbidden Lore (Xenos), or Common Lore (Adeptus Mechanicus) Test will reveal that the Adeptus Mechanicus Biologis would pay well for a specimen of such a strange creature. Alternatively, the Explorers might find some profit in selling these creatures to the Carnivoras and fighting pits of the Expanse or the nearby Calixis Sector. Criminal organizations such as the Beast House would pay dearly for such a creature. 'Unique Equipment' Vaporian Mirror Armor Highly polished, lamellar plates form the peculiar skin of this armor, worn by the sardars of the desert world of Vaporius in the farthest Heathen Stars. The mirror-like surfaces of the armor glitter like the facets of a diamond in the blazing sun of the Vaporius. Crafted by master artisans, this armor is as puissant as it is beautiful, and is particularly valued for its effectiveness against las-weaponry. Notoriously intolerant of newcomers and the Imperial Creed, the Vaporians rarely trade with outsiders. However, rumors tell of a Rogue Trader who managed to trade several millions tonnes of water for a cargo of the shimmering fabrics woven on Vaporius and suits of their fabled mirror armor. The reflective surfaces of the armor can even deflect the high intensity lasers used in lasguns. Thanks to its mirror sheen and heat resistance, Vaporian mirror armor provides an additional 5 AP against Energy Damage. Due to the conspicuousness of the armor, however, the wearer suffers a –30 penalty on all Concealment and Silent Move Tests. Arms, Body, Legs, AP 5, WT 15kg, Very Rare Vaporian Glass Hawk Hailing from the parched world of Vaporius, these copper and glass creations are used by the Priest-Kings to keep a close eye on their populace as well as any other goings-on in their domain. Category:Feudal Worlds Category:Koronus Expanse Category:Planets Category:Heathen Stars